Collection of Pearl
by GalacticCat1
Summary: 3 Steven Universe Pearl stories: Pearl has depression. (Can't really say much without giving away the story) The Ghost of You:On an unlucky mission, Pearl finds herself dead in the most unfortunate of circumstances. Back Home: Eyes can tell a story. Crystal Gels get taken back to Homeworld, Pearl doesn't resist.
1. 3 Pills Daily Chapter 1

The sun was at its peak, beaming it's hot rays down on Pearls back. _Ick. Sunshine._ She thought, squinting her eyes to attempt to protect them from the suns glare. She was walking along the sandy beach, carrying a small brown bag with 5 donuts in it after a trip to the donut shop.

Even though it was the last day in September, it was still quite a hot day. Seagulls flew overhead while the crashing of the waves seemed in time with the thin gems breathing. The rest of the Crystal Gems were sitting; lounging in the air conditioned beach house, while Pearl had been nominated for a donut run on what truly and honestly felt like the hottest day of the year.

"Why should I have to get donuts." Pearl mumbled to herself, nearing the temple. "I don't even eat." She climbed up the steps to the house part of the temple, and was greeted with an excited Steven sitting by the door while waiting for donuts. Peridot and Amethyst weren't too far away either, obviously waiting for some sweets.

"Pearls the donut master!" He eagerly yelled, jumping to get his donuts. Pearl gave him the Donut bag, in which he, Peridot and Amethyst pounced over to get their treats. Garnet and Lapis watched from afar, wondering if they themselves would get anything.

Pearl took advantage of the distraction and snuck over to her room, where she could get some peace, quiet and solitude. Garnet, of corse, noticed, but didn't say anything.

Garnet noticed a lot of things. Like the increased amount of time she spent in her room, her attitude, and obviously her motivation. Even Lapis seemed to do more than her, and all she did was read and watch trashy reality TV. Garnet would eventually need to talk to her, but decided to postpone it, to wait and see if it would just fade away.

* * *

It was now October, nearing Halloween much to Stevens excitement. Garnets prediction was wrong, as Pearls mood didn't fade. If anything, it grew stronger, starting to become noticeable by the other gems.

The gems (and Connie) had decided to play soccer, seeing they had an even number with Garnet un-fused. (Quick A/N- Omg guys I predicted Hit the Diamond)

"Ok!" Steven yelled, the other gems lined up on the wall of the barn. Peridot stood beside him. "We're picking teams! Ruby, your with me!"

"Amethyst!" Peridot yelled.

"Connie!" Steven yelled.

"Sapphire!"

"Lapis!"

"Pearl!"

"Alright let's play!" Steven ran out onto the chalk-drawn soccer field on the grass, with 2 makeshift nets from branches.

Lapis and Sapphire each took a net (it means they played goalie, to any of you non-soccer players) with the rest of the players playing outfield. Pearl just lazily kicked the ball away, not really paying attention to whose team it was going to. Ruby and Sapphire exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing. ' _We need to talk to her.'_

The game of soccer went relatively well, with only slight amounts of cheating from future vision and lighting the ball on fire. The game ended with a tie, mainly because the ball was kicked into another town.

"That was fun." Connie said, taking a bite out of a hotdog. "Mmm hmm!" Steven exclaimed, with a mouthful of food. He glanced over in Pearls direction. Pearl just sat the table, staring at her food and not bothering to even try anything.

"What's wrong?" Connie asked, trying to follow where Steven was looking. _It's Pearls business if something's wrong._ He thought. She'd _tell us if she wanted to. "_ Nothing!" Steven said, and continued his conversation with Connie.

But the truth was, Pearl wasn't in the mood to eat. She never really was, but today it felt stronger. She stared at the food a newly- fused Garnet had given her, feeling like she'd seen it somewhere before. The whole day felt like she was re-watching a movie, like everything was just so predictable. She couldn't bring herself to laugh when Garnet burnt a hotdog just by holding it, or even when Garnet said 'Ruby said hi'.

Pearl just looked around. Lapis was dying laughing, while Pearl was pretty sure Peridot was choking on her food. She just didn't seem to enjoy anything anymore.

* * *

Later that night at the temple, Pearl sat on one of the water pillars, cursing herself for not acting normal. She was arguing in her mind, trying to decide on whether or not to tell Garnet.

 _You should've laughed. That was funny, there must be something wrong with you._ One side of her head argued.

 _It wasn't that funny. Not your fault you didn't laugh._ The other side bickered.

 _But you just feel sad for no reason. You should tell Garnet..._

 _No way. This is your life, not Garnets. And this isn't even real. It's just made up in your head. Imagine how weak she'd think we were if we went crying to her because we're sad. We're strong._

 _Then why do we feel so weak?_

 _Because we let ourself!_

 _Garnet would know what to do!_

 _Then let's just be Garnet! SNAP OUT OF IT._

Pearl felt overwhelmed, unsure of what choice to pick. She laid down, scrunching her knees up to her chest and hugging them with her arms. Hot tears fell down her face, not for any reason in particular.

"Oh great. I'm crying for no fucking reason." Pearl said aloud.

"Let's see how shitty tomorrow is."


	2. 3 Pills Daily Chapter 2

Pearl opened the door to her room, stepping outside into the beach house. Garnet was making Steven breakfast, while Amethyst was still passed out on the couch.

"You're up late." Garnet says, looking at her with 3 eyes.

It was a casual Sunday, not much to do. Garnet sat on one of the stools by the counter, wearing an oversized t-shirt and some shorts. No glasses, no armour. It was both calming and odd to see Garnet like that.

"It's only 9." Pearl said back, sitting on a stool. "My point exactly." Garnet said, taking a bite out of a piece of toast in front of her. "3 hours later than you normally get up."

Pearl was stumped for something to say, so just shrugged instead. "Do we have anything to do today? Any missions?" She asked, hoping to change the subject. Garnet shook her head, taking another bite from her toast. "Nope." Pearl nodded, wondering what she could do for the day. She could go outside, go to Roses battlefield and look for more relics, or spend the day lazing around and watching Camp Love Hearts with Peridot. She settled on the third option.

Amethyst yawned, breaking from her snoring. "Do I smell food?" She said, climbing up off the couch. Garnet nodded, motioning to the toaster. "You even get to make it yourself."

Steven laughed, and Garnet smiled. Amethyst slumped over to the kitchen, sliding 2 pieces of toast in the toaster, and pressing the button on the side down.

"What happened to eggs and sausages, or smoothies and stuff?" Amethyst complained, almost mad about not having her usual breakfast. "The chef overslept." Garnet said, whilst Pearl rolled her eyes. "Pearl overslept?" Amethyst remarked sarcaticslly. "Never thought this day would come."

"I still got up before you." Pearl snapped. Amethyst was about to say something, but shut her mouth. Pearl smiled her superior smile, and went over to the warp.

"And where are you going?" Garnet asked, swivelling around in her chair. "The barn." Pearl said, before warping herself out.

The cool breeze and bright lights engulfed Pearl as she warped, feeling everything almost pull on her. She landed on the barn warp, her feet gracefully touching the ground. She walked over toward the barn, looking for Peridot.

"Peridot?" She called out, nervously, only to find the barn empty. She smiled, happy to have it to herself. She kicked back on the couch, and flicked a movie on.

Hours went by, with Pearl just doing nothing. She rather liked doing nothing, as nothing required very small amounts of effort. Although she liked being alone, her thought had other plans. Her thought would accompany her like a sad movie.

She just sat there, on that couch, with the TV on in the background, questioning life. Couldn't tell you why, it just happened. Thinking of how much she actually did. Thinking of everything she's done wrong. Thinking of if people would care if she disappeared. There was no doubt she was crying now.

Even when she stopped thinking, she was still just plain sad. She kept crying, and just generally being a blob for about 2 hours, until she heard the warp from outside and a thud as someone got off.

 _Ugh. Other people._ Pearl thought.

"PEARL!" She heard a familiar voice yell, one whose she instantly recognized. Garnet.

Garnet walked into the barn, to see the shadow of Pearl huddled under a pile of blankets. "Well haven't you been producti-" Garnet stopped mid sentence, Pearl seeing the look of shock on her face, which was unusual. "We're you crying?" She stuttered.

Pearl took a hand up to her face, to feel that tears were still running down her face. "Oh I didn't even notice." She said, knowing Garnet wouldn't believe her.

 _Shit. I sounded like a robot._

Pearl awkwardly smiled, to Garnet who had a mixed look of sadness and disappointment.

"Ok..." Garnet said, though not very surely. "I just wanted to check up on you..." Garnet walked back out of the barn, and back toward the warp.

 _Damnit._


	3. 3 Pills Daily Chapter 3

The next few weeks for Pearl was the emotional equivalent of watching paint dry. Almost nothing made her happy anymore.

Walks on the beach? She's sad now.

Icecream? Now she's miserable.

Missions? Absolute despair.

Garnet finally decided something had to be done.

"You need to tell me what's up."

Garnet and Pearl were sitting in Garnets room, both sitting on the floor. Pearl looked up in Garnets direction, and bit her lip. She was having a repeat of the argument in her head, debating back and forth.

 _Just tell her for fucks sake!_ One side yelled.

 _No way, this is our business._ The other side stated.

 _If we don't she'll think we're stubborn!_

 _Then let it be that way._

Pearl decided to listen to the first voice, but felt herself short of words. What was wrong? What was out of place? She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. Pearl shrugged, honestly not sure of that question herself. "I don't know." She spat out, looking down to the floor.

Garnet sighed. "Don't be stubborn. I can keep you here all day if I need to. You aren't yourself anymore. Just tell me what happened, and we can't an fix it." She looked over to Pearl, whose eyes were blubbery with tears.

"I don't know what's wrong. Everything feels repeated, like it's all happened before. Like the worlds in black and white." Pearl stammered, feeling her eyes water up. "I-It's just..." She stuttered and trailed off.

"Man..." Garnet said, her eyes not completely dry, but almost laughing. "Are you going to run out of tears anytime soon?" Pearl laughed, though still crying, for the first time in a long, long, time.

* * *

Appointment after appointment, doctors office after doctors office, they were able to diagnose her with MDD. Pearl wanted to rip her hair out after all the lectures she's gotten from physiatrists, and could recite doctors speeches about what medication would do.

Pearl reluctently hopped in the front seat of the van, bored of the bi-weekly trips to the hospital. She didn't even have the motivation to bother to get dressed, and just wore the same sweatpants and hoodie she's had on for the last week. There weren't a lot of missions, so she could get away with comfy Sunday chlothes. Garnet (who was also in a hoodie) sat down in the drivers seat, turning the keys in the ignition.

"Today's a short visit." Garnet said, adjusting the rear view mirror. Pearl raised an eyebrow and sighed, leaning her elbow against the arm rest, and slumping her head to rest in her hand. "That's what you said the last visit." She said sarcastically. "Which turned out to be 4 hours long."

Garnet rolled her eyes behind her glasses. "Today's not an appointment." She stated, pressing down on the gas and driving off the beach and onto the road. Pearl looked over at Garnet, and slumped down even further. "Then it must be worse than an appointment." She said, even though there was nothing worse than appointment.

Garet shook her head, and kept her eyes on the road. After an awkward 20 minute car drive, she pulled into a pharmacy. "Stay here." She told Pearl, unbuckling her seat belt and quickly walking into the store. Pearl was intrigued and confused. She leaned over, trying to see in the pharmacy, but couldn't.

Less than 2 minuets later, Garnet came walking out with a paper bag, that looked pretty full. She opened the car door, and sat down. Garnet had a smile plastered over her face, which Pearl found pretty suspicious.

Garnet opened the paper bag, and pulled out 3 bottles of pills. "Happy birthday!" She said, placing them in Pearls lap. Pearl was pretty confused, and read the label on one.

 **DATE ISSUED: NOV 24 16**

 **SRR NUMBER: 724 993 541**

 **TAKE 1 PILL DAILY**

 **DO NOT OVERDOSE**

 **835 7244 935 261**

"What is it?" Pearl said, still confused. Garnet backed out of the parking lot, and starters to drive home. "Read the back out loud." She said, turning a corner.

Pearl turned the bottle around, looking at the other label. "734 9823 08, issued to Pearl Universe," Pearl stopped reading and turned to Garnet. "Pearl Universe?" She said confused. "They needed a last name." Garnet said shrugging.

Pearl rolled her eyes for the millionth time that day, and kept reading. "Allergen allert- contains grin-grub-gradtop... Contain something that starts with G, certified anti-depre-" Pearl stopped mid-word, and looked at Garnet, furious. "I don't need those." She said stubbornly, dropping the bottle of pills back in the paper bag.

"Well, the doctors say you do, so happy birthday, Merry Christmas, you get to take 3 pills every day." Garnet said, pulling into the beach house. Pearl glared at Garnet.

 _'Bitch I'm fine.'_ Pearl screamed in her head. 'You _don't get to tell me what I need. I tell me what I need.'_

She reluctantly carried the paper bag into the house, swearing to herself that she wasn't gonna touch them.

And so the battle began.


	4. 3 Pills Daily Chapter 4

The battle was full blown, with Pearl on one team and everyone else on the other team.

"Just eat the damn pills." Garnet said, sliding a glass of water and 3 pills over to Pearl, who shook her head. "I don't need them." She stuck her nose up, and crossed her arms. Garnet sighed, slouching over. "Just eat them. Just eat one!" Garnet begged, pushing the glass of water closer to Pearl. Pearl sealed her lips, and turned away from Garnet.

Garnet groaned. The war was going on for hours now, and Pearl was winning with her stubbornness. She would have to shove them down Pearls throat if she didn't eat them soon. "Why? Why won't you eat them?" Garnet asked, annoyed and frantic at the same time.

"I. Don't. Need. Them." Pearl said, facing Garnet. "You're not moving from that spot until you eat them." Garnet said, getting desperate and using the tricks she used to make Steven eat his vegetables. Pearl gasped, slouching down in her seat and turning away from Garnet.

After hours of Pearls stubbornness, she finally ate them. "Now that wasn't too hard, now was it?" Garnet said, still frustrated with Pearl. Pearl stuck her tongue out at Garnet, and went into her room.

* * *

Morning after morning, the battle grew shorter. They went from all-day tantrums, to 5 hour fights, to 45 minute struggles. Though Pearl still insisted she didn't need any medications, they did seem to do something.

Though not in the direction they wanted to.

Doctors had warned them that the first while Pearl was on medication could make it a bit worse. A 'bit' was an understatement. Pearl was a full blown hot mess. She was always mad at everyone, and most days she didn't leave the temple.

"Pearl! We're leaving!" Garnet shouted, the team ready to leave for a mission. The gems were waiting by the warp pad, Pearl being the only one not there.

"She's probably not coming." Lapiz said, leaning on the counter. Peridot nodded. "I think so too." She said, looking over towards the temple door. It opened with a flash of light, Pearl stepping out. Dark circles underlined her eyes, and her hair was messily put back with some bobby pins. She was wearing the same hoodie and sweatpants she wore yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that...

She glared at the gems, slumping over to the kitchen and taking her pills down from the top cupboard. "Where are we going." She said, in a flat, grumpy tone. "We're sealing up the geode for good. The duct tape won't hold forever." Garnet told her.

Pearl emptied a pill from each bottle into her hand. "Ok." She said, pouring a glass of water, and swallowing the 3 pills in one gulp. Pearl walked over to the warp, putting a hand over her gem. The lazy clothes dissapeared, replaced by her blue shirt and ribbon around her waist.

The gems warped out, coming to the spot where the geode laid. "Alright. We're going to need to rip the tape off and put this on." Garnet held up a cloth-like looking material. "It would bind it up much better than the duct tape."

Pearl nodded, walking over toward the geode, slouching instead of her usual perfect posture. "Alright! On 3, Steven rips off the duct tape! Amethyst , Laips and I will push the mesh over. Got it?" Garnet commanded. "Pearl and Peridot are standing on either side with Amber glue to paste the mesh down."

The gems nodded, each of them going to the position they were assigned to.

"1, 2... 3!" Garnet yelled.

Steven ripped the duct tape off, the rest of the team pushing the net against the strong current eroupting from the geode.

Then, Pearl blacked out.


	5. 3 Pills Daily Chapter 5

"I should've known!"

Garnet paced around the living room, cursing herself. Pearl was out cold on the couch, her physical form glitching every so often. Steven was still very confused. All he saw was the duct tape rip off, and some gas, or liquid or something splash on Pearl. Then Pearl was poofed, and everyone frantically got Pesrl out of there and back to the temple. The geode was re-patched with more duct tape, as Pearl was more important.

"I don't get it." Steven asked. "Why couldn't we patch up the geode and then get Pearl home? And why did she poof?"

Garnet stopped and thought for a minuet, obviously thinking of a way to tell Steven that he'd understand. "Each gem is made up of different element compounds." Peridot cut in, jumping in front of Garnet. "The main ingredient in a Pearl is calcium carbonate. Whatever came out of that geode must have had a high concentration of acetic acid. That acid got on Pearls gem, dissolving the calcium carbonate."

She smiled matter-of-factly, only to see Steven blankly staring at her. Garnet rolled her eyes. "Whatever was in that geode was dangerous to Pearls gem. She got poofed when it landed on the gem, and we had to get her out fast. If we didn't, her gem would've gotten eaten away by the gas." She explained again.

"Ohhhh!" Steven said, finally understanding. He looked over at Pearl, her physical form glitching again. "So she's gonna be okay?" He asked, now worried for Pearl. Garnet smiled at him. "Of coarse she is."

* * *

"I'm never going on another mission." Pearl said grumpily, still restricted to the pull out couch. She couldn't move much, and didn't have a lot of space.

"Oh just a warning that there's something that's deadly to me might be helpful. But no. You both have common knowledge of what's in geodes but don't bother to tell anyone." Pearl snapped, flopping over on her side.

Garnet let out a mix between a sigh and a moan. "We're sorry. We brought you back to the temple as soon as we could! What else do you want?" She walked over to the kitchen, taking Pearls pills down from the top shelf and pouring a glass of water. "Here you go." She said, holding out the pills and water for Pearl to take.

"No." Pearl said, putting her pillow over her head. "Uuuuugg." She moaned, not wanting to deal with stubborn Pearl. "Please." She begged. Pearl took the pillow off her head just to stick her tongue out at Garnet.

Steven walked through the front door, Connie right behind him. "Hi Garnet." He said, walking up the stairs to his room. Gears clicked in Garnets head. "Here Steven, get Pearl to swallow these." She gave him the pills, picking him up and plopping him down beside Pearl.

"Not gonna work." Pearl shouted, though muffled by the pillow. Garnet groaned again, with Steven just plain confused. "Why won't you eat them? They're gonna make you better." Steven asked, Pearl lifting her head up from under the pillow. Garnet felt as if she had won. Steven was being adorable, something Pearl always gave into. "Because Garnet told me to eat them." Pearl replied firmly, crossing her arms.

Garnet was 100% fed up with Pearl. She walked over, picking Steven up and putting him down next to Connie. She held the pills in one hand, outstretched to Pearl. Summoning a Gauntlet with the other hand, she stared at Pearl through her glasses. Pearl looked up at her, almost shaking. She hadn't seen Garnet this mad at her, even with the Sardonyx incident.

"Eat the pills **_now_**." She muttered, making Pearl shiver with fear. Pearl held out a hand, Garnet dropping them in her palm. She quickly swallowed them in one gulp, still looking up at Garnet in terror.

"Thank you." Garnet said, walking over toward her door, the gauntlet still on one hand.


	6. 3 Pills Daily Chapter 6

Pearl was quiet for the next couple of days. She took her meds when Garnet told her too, and mainly slept throughout the days. Weeks later, the tension died down and Pearl was able to get up again. She then got back to her routine of having no routine.

It was a sunny Tuesday, the rest of the gems being outside on the beach. Pearl sat in the house, surfing the web on Stevens laptop. She heard erouptions of laughter come from outside, silently cursing the gems outside.

Closing the laptop, she walked over to the kitchen, opening the cupboards for something to eat, as she had grown to enjoy smoothies. Her anti-depressants sat on the cupboard, waiting for her to bother with them later.

 _What would happen if I ate them all?_ She thought. Would _I die? Nah, I can't die from overdosing. Too bad._

Her physical forms heart stopped beating, as if she took a heart attack from being scared.

 _What the fuck Pearl?_ She screamed at herself in her mind. _The_ _hell is wrong with you?_

She grabbed some yogurt and chocolate from the fridge and blended it into a delicious monstrosity. Walking back to the couch, she spotted Gregs tool box in a corner behind the couch. She stood and stared at it for a minuet, before walking back to the couch.

Amethyst burst through the front door, hysterically laughing. "GARNET-WAVE-LAPIZ-FWOOSH!" She muttered, not being able to talk from laughing. Pearl raised an eyebrow, not sure what was going on.

Lapiz was next to walk in, a mischievous smile plastered on her face. Garnet and Steven came in behind her, Steven smiling ear to ear, and Garnet looking grumpier than usual, though as might look of enjoyment in her frown.

"Someone want to explain what Amethyst tied to tell me?" Pearl asked, sticking her nose back in the laptop. "Garnet told me to make a wave. So I did." Lapiz smirked, looking over to Garnet.

Garnet rolled her eyes. "I told you to make some waves so Steven could try surfing. I didn't tell you to crash one on me."

Pearl nodded, knowing where the story, er, argument would go. She took a sip from her smoothie, listening to the arguments and laughter in the background, which had all become white noise by now.

The white noise dissapeared after awhile, and Pearl was alone in the house once again. She pondered what she could do, and decided on nothing (surprise surprise.)

The house had grown dark, Steven was fast asleep, with Garnet and Amethyst in their rooms. Pearl sighed out loud, feeling crushing guilt from lots of things.

-Staying home inside all day

-Not taking her meds

-Not playing with Steven

The list could go on, each burden adding weight to the already soul-crushing depression that had fallen on her. She got up, walking around aimlessly. She looked up at Steven, even smiling in his sleep.

Sighing again, she sat back down on the couch, pulling a blanket over her head and crunching her knees up to her stomach.

"UUUUUNG." She exclaimed, just quiet enough not to wake Steven. A flash of red light came from by the temple door, with Garnet stepping out. She looked over in Pearls direction, seeing a mound of blankets and pillows with Pearl inside. "Hey little sad-sack." She said jokingly, walking over toward her.

"Uuuuuung." Pearl groaned, but muffled by a pillow. Garnet pulled a layer of blanked off Pearl, only to find another. "You didn't take medication today. And it's 10 already." Garnet said, being able to tell. "Planning on taking it any time soon?"

Pearl pulled down the blankets and glared at Garnet. She resentfully nodded, a frown covering her face. Garnet walked toward the kitchenette, opening the cupboard and taking the pills down. She pouted a glass of water, and emptied a pill from each bottle into her hand. "Here you go." She said, handing it over to Pearl. "You get to take it now."

Pearl glared at Garnet, not enjoying her humour. Nevertheless, she swallowed the medication.

Garnet sat down on the couch next to Pearl, putting her feet up on the coffee table. "So are you feeling better?" Garnet asked, half trying to start a conversation, half trying to get enough info for her future vision to work.

"Yes." Pearl muttered grumpily, turning away from Garnet. Garnet raise an eyebrow. "Doesn't sound like it." She said, looking down to Pearl.

Pearl made a sour face, looking up to Garnet. "I'm obviously not wanted here, so I'm gonna leave you to do nothing on your own." Garnet said, getting up and walking over to the other side of the couch, then toward the door.

* * *

 **Authors Note- Hello! Cat here. This is the second fic that got really popular, so thanks for all the people who are following this story!**

 **Got a few ways this story could go, not sure if I should take it in a sad way or a humorous way. Leaning toward the sad way.**

 **NOTE TO ALL PEOPLE WHO READ AWAY FROM EVERYTHING: Sequal on the way :D**


	7. 3 Pills Daily Chapter 7

Things weren't going uphill at all. Although they had stopped going down, it felt as if she'd reached a plateau at the very bottom, with no more room for anything to get worse.

She stayed home from missions, and didn't talk to anyone. Currently, the other gems were out on a mission, Pearl wanting to stay home.

Pearl scrolled through Tumblr, hoping to find something interesting to read, but didn't see anything. Closing the laptop, she stared up at the ceiling.

"I've been talking that stupid medication for a month now." She said out loud. "And it hasn't done shit." She groaned, feeling a swirl of desperateness and darkness inside of her. She wasn't crying, as she hadn't felt any sort of emotion in days. Just emptiness.

She got up for another pointless walk around the house, looking for something to do. Her feet heavily swayed across the floor, eve _n_ finding it harder to walk.

"Wouldn't it be great." She said aloud. "If they hadent brought me back from the geode." She stopped walking, staring out the window to the cloudy day outside. "I wouldn't need to go through this." Pearl walked over to the window, leaning her head on the glass. "I'd be gone."

She sighed, still feeling emptiness, not even sadness. She just stared outside, thinking.

She's seen everything. Done everything. The whole world was explored, she'd done everything. Gone on picnics, learned to paint, learned to play a variety of instruments.

It felt like she didn't have any other purpose. She beat the game, done all the missions, defeated the final boss.

Pearls eyes fell on the toolbox. It was obviously filled with screwdrivers, nails, _hammers._

She walked over, with the desire to escape in her mind. She opened the toolbox, finding it was empty. Letting out a frustrated groan, she opened the door to her room. Trying to summon the swords out from the water, she found that nothing was there.

Frustrated, she went back into the living room, a desire to die implanted in her mind. She slumped back on the couch, knowing Garnet had done some snooping around in the future and prevented this.

Perhaps it was for the greater good. Of coarse Garnet wouldn't want Pearl to kill herself, Pearl was a valued crystal gem, a member of the team, someone like family.

She stared off into the distance, her eyes settling on the fridge. "Why can't I die from food? Garnet can't predict that." Pearl slumped down even further, accepting the fact she was going to have to live an eternity of emptiness.

 _The geode._

The thought hit Pearl like a ton of bricks. "What was in the geode." Pearl whispered to herself, more as a statement that a question. She walked over to the fridge and opened the fridge door.

She picked up a bottle of vinegar, a feeling of satisfaction washing over her. "Acetic acid." She whispered to herself again, holding up the bottle.

* * *

 **7:24pm**

Garnet felt as if something wasn't right. She tried to look in the future, but saw nothing.

Her and the team were on a mission, just your run of the day mission to recover an out-of-control gem mutant.

"We should head back now." She said, as they had finished and were sitting down. The gems walked toward the warp, not knowing what was waiting at home.

* * *

 **7:27pm**

Pearl was standing in front of the washroom mirror, the bottle of vinegar in one hand, while the other hand was wiping tears away from her cheeks.

"...Just do it..." She said to herself, unscrewing the lid from the bottle.

* * *

 **7:29pm**

The gems came to the warp pad, Steven wanting to warp them out. Garnet was having a debate in her head, Ruby and Sapphire bickering back and forth.

 _We took all precautions we could._

 _But is it enough?_

 _We can't see anything, but I hope so._

 _We can't hope! We need to know!_

 _But we don't know!_

Although it wasn't sure which voice was Rubys and which was Sapphires, it was clear there was a dispute.

* * *

 **7:29pm**

Pearl raised the bottle just over her head, still holding it upright. She sniffled, tears dripping into the sink. She tilted the bottle of vinegar, a slow drizzle coming from the bottle.

She felt it drop on her, slowly disintegrating her gem, still oblivious to the fact there were other gems coming to the temple.

"Goodbye everyone." She whispered, though nobody could hear her.

"I love you."

* * *

 **7:29**

Garnet and the others warped into the temple, Garnet being worried. "Pearl?" She said, looking around the house, walking toward the bathroom door.

* * *

 **7:30**

The bottle was half empty, Pearl feeling small holes develop in her gem. Tears were still running down her face, mixed in with the vinegar.

* * *

 **7:30**

"PEARL!" Garnet screamed, jumping at Pearl, knocking the bottle of vinegar out of her hand. Panicked, Garnet ran the shower, pushing Pearl in, and making sure her gem was underwater.

The rest of the gems were confused by the shout from Garnet, and that the shower had turned on seconds later. Amethyst motioned for the other gems to stay there while she crept toward the washroom.

She peeked through the door, only seeing the bottle of vinegar on the floor, and the steam from the shower.

Amethyst walked back toward the other gems, her face pale and expressionless. "There was a bottle of vinegar on the floor..." She breathed, the other gems expressions turning to shock as well.

Steven was confused, though still worried. "Vinegar? Is that what was in the..." He trailed off, looking over to Peridot, who nodded.

 **Authors Note: HECK YEAH I JUST DID THAT!**

 **HERE YOU GO!**

 **LOTS AND LOTS OF FEELS!**


	8. 3 Pills Daily Chapter 8

Pearl felt relieved and disappointed at the same time. Garnet had come in to stop her, and Pearl didn't know if hat was a good thing or a bad thing.

Right now, it felt like a bad thing. Her head was dunked under water, while Garnet was scrubbing the living hell out of her gem to get the vinegar out. She was going to get yelled at for sure. Garnet would scream, shout, lose her temper, and ground Pearl.

Pearl was wondering when Garnet would stop. She'd been holding Pearl underwater and rinsing her gem for a solid half hour now, and it was starting to hurt. She felt a hand lift her head out of the water, and to have a towel thrown over her shoulders. Garnet was looking at her gem, seeing if the vinegar was gone.

Pearl realized Garnet was crying, which was odd for her to see. Pearl looked at Garnets 3 eyes, which were red from tears. She pulled Pearl against her chest, clinging to her.

"Don't scare me like that again!" Garnet sobbed, holding Pearl for dear life, sitting on the bathroom floor. Pearl was taken aback by Garnets response, and wasn't sure how to handle it. Garnet squeezed tighter, and Pearl felt Garnets tears on the back of her neck.

She felt her eyes water up as well, and found herself hugging Garnet back. "I'm sorry..." She breathed, holding onto Garnet. "I shouldn't have caused you this trouble..."

"I don't care!" Garnet said, still crying. "You're ok, you're safe, you're alive. That's all that matters!"

To anyone who would've walked in, it would've been a strange sight. 2 gems, hugging and crying on the washroom floor, puddles of water all over that it e floor, vinegar spilled in a corner.

The door slowly creaked open, and a worried looking Amethyst peeked in. Relief washed over her face when she saw Pearl, and ran in for a hug.

Now, to anyone who would've walked in, there would've been 3 gems sitting on the washroom floor, crying and hugging.

The crying and hugging continued for a good hour, with Steven and Peridot coming in too, until somebody pointed out that the floors were going to be ruined if they didn't clean the vinegar up.

Pearl sat on the couch, the other gems insisting she didn't have to clean. Looking toward the washroom, she could see silhouettes of gems, mopping the floors and drying up the water with towels. At this point, she felt ashamed for everything. Ashamed for things that she'd only done in her head.

Maybe things would get better. Maybe they wouldn't.

If could be an eternity of bullshit.

It could not.

But it had seemed that through all the bullshit,

That there might not be bullshit.

A sliver of hope could be seen.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

 **Small chapter, oh well. Hope you guys liked it! If you liked this story, check out some of my other ones!**


	9. 3pd Chapter 9- alternate ending

**Heyyyy!**

 **This is an alternate ending for chapter 8.**

 **I HOPE YOU ENJOY CRYING.**

* * *

Pearl felt lightheaded. Probably from the vinegar on her gem, or the immense scrubbing Garnet was doing.

It wasn't helping. The vinegar had disintegrated too much of her gem.

Pearl felt herself being pulled out of the water, a towel thrown over her shoulders. Garnet worrily looked in her gem, her expression turning to panic.

"No no no no no..." She mumbled under her breath.

A strong current was dragging Pearl somewhere else. Hard to fight, hard to resist. It felt so good. She allowed herself to be swept away, floating away from the guilt and anxiety that had fallen over her.

But something was pulling her, tugging her back. A stronger hold reclaimed her, bringing her back from the eternal paradise that she had almost, _almost_ had.

Her head was lifted from the water once again, only to be dunked back under. The pathway to her paradise could be seen in the distance, too far away for her to grasp.

All of the sounds of the world were blocked out. The only sounds she could hear were Garnets cries, Amethyst joining in too.

Pearl reached out to the paradise, her fingertips gracing the soft cloud. It was so close. She could reach out and pull herself up...

Pearls fingers rested on the paradise. The anxiety and depression that has engulfed her for so many months had melted off, leaving behind her old happy self. Pearl smiled, feeling the familliar warmth race through her body.

Reaching up another hand, she hoisted herself up. All the pain and disappointment that she had felt was a distant memory. Nothing mattered anymore. She was flying through what felt like heaven.

A figure stood in the distance, curly hair, warm smile. Tears welled up in Pearls eyes when she saw her. Racing as fast as her legs could carry her, she buried her face in Roses curly hair, wrapping her arms around her. Rose hugged her back. "I've missed you, my Pearl." She spoke in the heavenly tone that Pearl had almost forgotten about. "I missed you too."

Meanwhile, tears stained Garnets face. Pearls physical form laid on her lap, limp. In her hand rested the two broken halves of Pearls gem. "I should've seen this..." Garnets voice cracked.

A pair of arms wrapped around her. She looked down to Steven, who was also crying. Garnet hugged Steven back, comforting herself as well as Steven. Peridots arms hugged her as well, Amethysts too.

Garnet looked down at Pearls limp body. An indent laid in her forehead where her gem popped out. She could have prevented this. Pearl could've been alive right now.

Steven was the most broken out of all of them. She was like his mother, sister, and best friend all at the same time. Now... Oh now...

Now she was dead.


	10. 3pd Chapter 8 and a half: Aftermath

Hey

I have lots of things that need to be done.

This is not one of them.

But I'm doing this.

:)

That represents how my life is going right now.

(Takes place after the first ending where Pearl doesn't die.)

Wait I should also mention I'm Pearlmethyst trash :3

* * *

The afternoon sun shone brightly over Beach City, promising a hot day for its citizens. The majority of the town would be outside, playing and laughing with friends and family. Pearl was able to enjoy these days once again, able to bask in the sunlight rather than shun it.

So, it was quite a shame when a mission had been called for the gems, one that even called for a 4 hour hike each way in the rainy tropics. But, Pearl wasn't going. Her depression had shrunk down to a bit more than laziness, which kept her inside and on the couch. None of them gems had complained. Sitting on the couch was much better than leaning over the bathroom sink... With a bottle of vinegar...

"We'll be back tomorrow." The teams leader, Garnet, informed Pearl. The slender gem nodded, taking another sip from a popcorn-tomato smoothie, which even Amethyst called disgusting. "Amethyst is going to be staying at the temple with you while we're gone." Pearl nodded once again, knowing that Amethyst wasn't exactly there to keep her company.

It had been less than a week since... _you know what_ had happened, and everyone was still on edge. It wasn't that the gems didn't trust Pearl, it was that they cared for her. The extra care was, to be honest, getting incredibly annoying for Pearl. She knew everyone was being delibrately nice to her, and that they didn't 'forget' to buy vinegar on the grocery order.

And she knew the code words and phrases they'd use, as Steven isn't exactly a master of language. For example, Amethyst was the 'watcher', which was what they called the gem who stayed with Pearl at all times to make sure she didn't try and kill herself again. 'Looks' was code for 'I think she just looked at the fridge or a hammer in a gloomy way'. Very creative.

Amethyst, being the assigned 'watcher', took a seat next to her on the couch, a sketchbook and pencil in hand. "What's going on?" Amethyst asked, trying to start up a conversation, and obviously trying not to mention the existence of 'the incident'.

"Nothing." Pearl blandly replied, scrolling down her Tumblr page. Amethyst awkwardly nodded, as this wasn't a conversation day. The two gems sat in silence, each occupied with their own thing.

The day grew dark, making way for nightfall. "So... you just gonna, keep, doing whatever it is you're doing?" Amethsyt asked, finding herself failing for words. Pearl shook her head, closing the laptop. "I think I'll sleep." She responded. "Garnet said it'd do me good."

Amethsyt shot her a thumbs up, before hopping off the couch and working to pull out the couch. She threw a pillow on the makeshift bed, and added a blanket after that. "There." Amethyst stepped back to take a look at the couch, which was transformed into a bed.

"Thank you." She genuinely replied. Pearl sat down, closing the laptop and laying it beside her. She pulled the blankets up to her chin, her face buried in the pillow. Getting up to turn off the light, Amethyst took a seat at the kitchenette, having her ususal late night snack. Looking back to the pullout, Pearl was already fast asleep.

Maybe Pearl _was_ getting better.

* * *

 _Standing in front of the bathroom mirror. That's not me, is it? She's so... So sad._

 _The bottle of vinegar is raised._

 _What am I doing? Wait- what are you doing? STOP!_

 _Why would you-I-we do that!?_

 _Thats not me..._

 _This isn't happening..._

 _WAKE UP!_

* * *

3:44am

Thats what the clock said when Pearl woke up, panicked and in a cold sweat. Her heart pounded rapidly in her ears, breathing shallow.

"Yo P, what's wrong?" A sleepy voice asked. Amethsyt woke up as well, as she'd fallen asleep at the counter. Mere seconds after the question was asked, the waterworks began. Tears flooded down the slender gems face, dripping onto her blankets. Amethyst was taken back by this, looking towards the warp pad and praying for Garnet to come in and save the day, as she was the one who usually calmed Pearl down.

 _'Think, Amehyst! Whats Garnet usually do to calm her down!'_

Amethyst drew a blank, standing there like an idiot while Pearl's beginning to think that vinegar would be really helpful right about now. "It's okay," Amethsyt stated, sitting on the couch next to Pearl. She wrapped her arms around the pale gem, letting Pearl cry into her shoulder.

Fidgeting around, she adjusted herself so Pearl sat in her lap. "I-I-I 'ad a n-nightmare." Pearl stuttered through the steady stream of tears that poured out of her eyes. Not sure of what to say, Amethyst silently sat there, rubbing Pearls back as she's seen Garnet do.

 _'For fucks sake, Amethyst, think!'_

The two sat there, one sobbing and the other sweating. Gears clicked in amethysts brain, giving her an idea. Whether it would work or not was the other question.

"Let's go in the garden," Amethyst softly sang, "You'll find something waiting."

"Right there where you left it, lying upside down," Pearl joined, singing the next verse in a shaky tone.

"When you finally find it," The two girls sang in unison, "You'll see how it's faded, the underside is lighter when you turn it around,"

"Everything stays," Pearl sat up, wiping stray tears from her face, staring at her feet to avoid eye contact. She looked up, her eyes meeting Amethysts.

"Right where you left it." Amethyst looked away, hiding the blush that quickly covered her cheeks.

"Everything stays," Amethyst leaned back to lay on the bed, eyes glued to the ceiling.

"But it still changes," Pearl followed suit, also laying on her back.

"Ever so slightly, daily and nightly," Pearl shuffled closer to Amethyst, laying her head on the smaller gems chest.

"In little ways," Amethyst wrapped her arms around Pearl, pulling the petit gems closer.

"When everything stays," Pearl finished in a talking voice, her face buried in Amethysts chest, the latter gems arms wrapped protectively around the former.

"Thank you, Amethyst."


	11. The Ghost of You Chapter 1

**Quick note-**

 **For some reason, it's not letting me make new stories. So this is my solution. Add them onto old stories. Problem solved.**

 **Also Im reading some of my old writing, and then reading this, and thinking:**

 **'Sh*t. (I wanna keep this K+)**

 **SH*T.**

 **That's improvement.'**

 **So this was based off a dream I had, with inspiration coming from Septimus Heap, Harry Potter, The Corpse Bride and MCR for the title.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Of _all_ places Garnet could've assigned me,"

Pearl grumpily searched through towering piles of garbage, a wretched oder filling her nose.

"She had to give _me_ , of all gems,"

She nearly tripped over an empty soup can, grumbling in frustration.

" _The garbage dump."_

Looming piles of trash outlines the sky, which had just finished fading from the pinks and oranges of the sunrise. The sky would've been beautiful, full of flecks of vibrant colour, had it not been for the garbage blocking her view.

A foul oder of rotten food and old tires placed its home in Pearls home, causing the thin gem to gag and plug her nose. Sure, it wasn't the best location to search through. But it could be worse. Amethyst had to look through the boardwalk to try and find the butt.

The gems were searching for a gem mutant, which had been sliced into three pieces; which had all ran away. Each piece had grown a new set of limbs and scurried off, it was weird. Garnet was sure of the locations and which sections went where, so at least Pearl could be grateful that she wasn't looking for the butt. The tall gem started giggling at her own joke, getting partially sidetracked from the task at hand. So much, in fact, that she hadn't noticed the quiet looming figure approaching from behind her.

 _The gem mutant._

And by the time she did see it, there was no time to run. A thick saliva dropped from the gem monsters mouth onto the back of Pearls neck. Pearl stopped laughing immediately, heart sinking in her chest. The petit gem slowly turned around to face the giant, heart falling in her chest when she saw it. The mutant was bird like, but with four massive arms with three clwas on each, feathers falling off its two thin legs. Pearl was stiff with fear, hairs on the back of her neck standing up. That thing was at _least_ three times her height...

Both were silent and still, until one made a move.

Four sets of claws shot out toward Pearl, scratching at her delicate ivory skin. It let out an ear pricing screech, loud enough to shatter a gem. Pearl shut her eyes in response to the sound, she'd cover her ears if they weren't being held by her sides by two of the claws, the other two scratching at her gem monster had pinned her to the ground, cracking her fragile gem against a broken bottle. As Pearl took a deep breath in to scream as loud as her lungs would let her, a slimy tentacle wrapped around her neck, circling over her mouth. But- the gem monster didn't have tentacles...

Slowly opening her eyes, they went wide in fear. Another similar gem mutant stood in front of her, four jet black slimy tentacles instead of claws. 'That was the one Garnet was looking for...' Pearl made the connection in her mind. She didn't even have time to look at it for very long before a tentacle shot out at her.

Everything went black.

It felt as if needles were being torn out of her gem; laying scattered among the broken glass that covered the surface of the junkyard. Everything pulled and tugged on Pearl, almost as if trying to rip every atom from her body. Time stopped, so did her heartbeat, which no longer pounded while trying to break free of her chest.

Pearl laid there, heavily bleeding from both the gem mutant attack and from the chips of glass lodged in her skin. She drew in a shaky breath, stopped by the feeling of her lungs not expanding. Groaning and trying to sit up, a cold wind blew over her, sending shivers down her spine. The feeling of something peeling; rather being peeled from something, was not pleasant.

"What in the..." Pearls lungs once again worked to allow her to speak and to breath. But they still didn't expand. And her heart no longer beat in a rhythmic pattern in her chest. Her body lay completely still, no longer accompanied by the rush of blood flow or the permanent tthrobbing in her temples that Amethyst had created.

This was odd.

Something was clearly off, though Pearl couldn't quite put her finger on it. Without even realizing it, Pearl was slowly floating upwards, hovering inches above the Earth. She blinked, rubbing her sore eyes. What was left of her organs dropped. Her skin felt cold, transparent, as if it wasn't there. "Oh my goodness." Pearl panicked, noticing that she floated above the ground, which led to even more panicking. "Ohmygoodnessohmygoodnessohmygoodness..." She was in full out panic mode, eyes falling on her dead body, peacefully laying beneath her.

"OHMYGOODNESSOHMYGOODNESS!" Eyes wide in fear and confusion, Pearl made the conclusion in her mind. She first denied it, bringing her hands to her head. Looking down at her body, scars lined her skin, thick blue lines where the gem mutants tentacles had cut off her circulation. The rest of her clothing was bloodstained, stains outlining a gash in her midsection, where the fatal blow had been delivered.

"I'm dead..."

The words fell off her tongue, the slender gem (ghost now) clasped a cold hand over her mouth, eyes welling up with tears. "No... No, this isn't real!" She denied, feeling her wrist and the oust for a pulse, lungs for breathing, pinching herself for pain, _anything_ as a symbol of life. She stared into the cold, lifeless face of her body, which had been laughing and full of life just several hours ago. _Minutes ago._

Her thoughts werent registerring in her brain. She was dead now, nonexistent, passed away, just dead. She'd survived the gem war, escaping Homeworld, and this was what killed her, just a regular mission gone wrong. Pearl sat down beside her body, gravity significantly lighter on her ghostly form. It had all happened so quick; the gem mutant, the claws, the bottle...

Her attention was drawn toward the bottle that had smashed her gem. Pieces of the glass were mixed with slivers of her gem, both nearly identical to each other. A closer look could reveal one half of her gem intact, the other half shattered to dust, and other pieces identical to the shattered glass of the bottle. Anger welled in Pearl stomach, leading to more tears of frustration.

"This is all your fault, you stupid bottle." She growled. "If it weren't for you. I would STILL BE ALIVE!" Pearl stopped herself, cold, icy tears streaming down her face and sinking through the ground below her, as if it weren't there. "I'm yelling at a bottle." She said softly, coming to the realization of her craziness and sitting back down on the hard earth, hugging her knees to her chest and crying into her thighs.

"I'm dead... I'm really dead..."


	12. The Ghost Chapter 2

The stars twinkled from their places in the sky, shining and glittering millions of miles away. Pearl sighed, the tight feeling in her lungs going nowhere. She'd been dead for only a few hours now, the initial shock still strong. The girl got to her feet, gravity still planting her two feet on the ground, but not as strong as when she was living.

 _When I was living._

The words had a sour taste on Pearls tongue, as if they weren't supposed to be said in that order. She stepped over to her body, still in pristine condition. It looked as if any second now she would just get back up and walk away. But that would never happen, her heart and lungs stopped working hours ago. Pearl placed a hand on top of her dead body. She could still feel her dead fingers, waiting any second for them to heat up and have blood rush through them once again.

Walking away as fresh tears began to form in the corners of her eyes, Pearl looked up to the sky, dawn just beginning to crack the dark night. Flecks of pink, orange and red splattered against the blackish navy blue night sky, creating ng what could've been framed in an art museam. But at the same time, the colours were dull greys, just adding to the blackness of the sky. Sunrises weren't as beautiful now that Pearl was dead, something she feared would happen.

"I'm dead." Pearl said aloud, taking a stroll through the garbage dump. "I'm dead, I'm really dead." She repeated, the sounds of the words somewhat comforting. Pearl laughed, not out of joy but of insanity. "I'll never breathe again, never eat, never smell the roses..." Tears were now streaming down the pale ghosts face, leaving trails on her translucent skin. Spinning and dancing around in the garbage dump, she laughed and smiled, though smile forced and laughter fake. Her dancing stopped, the pale gam standing and staring into the greyish sunrise. "I-I'll..." She choked on her words, forcing them out of her mouth. "I'll never hold Steven again..."

The words came out in a squeak of a tone, barely making any sound at all. If ghosts could run out of tears, Pearl would've gone dry hours ago. She dried her eyes with the corner of her bloodstained sash, watching as the sun rose over the horizon. "Garnet is probably worried sick about me." Pearl strolled through the junkyard, closing her eyes and trusting her feet to take her where she needed to go.

Pearl was silent, gracefully and swiftly walking out of the junkyard and onto the short highway that led to Beach City. She opened her eyes, watching as the city drew nearer. Stopping in her tracks and rethinking her decisions, she heard the rumble of a van speeding down the highway. Pearl turned around, scared for a moment before she realized that she couldn't get any worse than she already was.

Then to her great surprise, the van kept driving, passing through Pearl. The drivers expression remained the same, as if he hadn't seen Pearl in the first place. The feeling of being passed through was not pleasant, as if someone had pushed all her organs along with the car. It made Pearl nauseous, though there wasn't anything to throw up.

The ghostly gem was still quite confused. "Can't you see me..." Pearl asked, more as a statement than a question. She continued down the highway, coming onto the Beach City Boardwalk. Standing smack dab in the middle of a crowd and waving her arms frantically, none of the pedestrians even batted an eye. Slightly frustrated, Pearl took a deep breath (which she really didn't need) and screamed.

"CAN ANY OF YOU SEE ME?"

Again, nobody noticed. The frustration in Pearls chest turned to sadness, realizing that she was forever invisible. The unpleasant feeling of being passed through shook Pearl up once again, which would have made her mad, but her eyes welled up once she saw who it was.

"Have you seen a slim girl, 'bout 5'7", short hair, anywhere?" Garnet, in her thick accent asked the young boy working the fry shop, who shook his head. The tall gem sighed. "Thanks 'nyway." She walked back toward the temple after a morning of no luck with finding Pearl, which was clearly starting to worry Garnet, as she was like Pearls mother; always looking out for her and caring for her.

Pearl trailed in Garnets footprints, following behind the Crystal Gem. She reached out an arm, when Garnet stopped in her tracks. Pearls hand was touching Garnets back, making the hairs on the taller gems neck stand up. Garnet turned around, rubbing her neck while scanning for what felt like a touch. She shrugged, as she saw nobody there, then kept walking towards the temple.

Pearl broke inside; Garnet couldn't even tell she was there. "Garnet... Why can't you just see me?" Pearl nearly screamed, grabbing hold of her hair with her fingers. The leader of the Crystal Gems kept walking, oblivious to the gem breaking down behind her. "Anybody..." Pearl dropped to her knees, making tiny indents in the sand. "I'm going insane here..."

Garnet turned around this time, squinting at what she saw as a thin white cloud, hardly visible in the bright sunlight. The tall gem had searched for hours all night for Pearl, so her eyes were quite tired. As she strained to see into the seemingly empty air, the shape of a person could be made out.

Pearls eyes lit up as another expression crossed Garnets face, but it quickly fell. Instead of the happiness or sorrow that was expected, she saw fear instead. From behind her visor Pearl could see her eyes widen, irises and pupils covering her eyes. "...Garnet?" Pearl asked, getting to her feet and taking a step closer to the taller gem, who opened her mouth and said,

"Oh my goodness."


	13. The Ghost Chapter 3

The gems sat in the beach house, completely silent spare for the occasional sniffle. Pearl sat on the couch, the rest of the gems standing by the kitchen island, tears in everyone's eyes. Pearl had found a way to will herself to become visible to the other gems. She'd learned a lot since the time she had died. For example, she could only visit places she'd been alive, and somehow in her thousands of years of living she hadn't been in a certain room in the temple where the lighting would've been best to see her.

So there they were, sitting in the living room with all the shades drawn, minimizing the light so Pearl wouldnt fade. "Can...can you hear us?" Amethyst broke the silence, voice wavering. She squinted to see, as Pearl often flickered in and out of her vision. The thin ghost nodded, trying to make her form bolder against the other sources of light.

Garnet swallows the lump in her throat, clearing her throat to speak. "What happened?" She asked in a clear tone. Pearl sighed, sinking lower into the couch without making a divot. Her mouth started moving, but no sound audible by the other gems could be heard. Garnet strained her ears to hear, but nothing was coming out of that girls mouth.

"We need a different way to communicate. We can't hear you." Garnet informed her, her voice a little louder than she intended. Pearl stopped talking and nodded, a slight blue blush even visible by the gems creeping across her face. Motioning for the others to follow and walking out the front door, Garnet stepped down the stairs leading up to the beach house. She walked down the beach, the others following closely behind.

In the bright daylight Pearl was merely a silhouette, only visible if you concentrated on her and squinted your eyes. "Where are we going?" Steven asked in a small voice. He was heartbroken after loosing Pearl; she was like his big sister. Always looking out for him. But, there was nobody looking out for Pear when she needed it most.

"As much as I'd hate to admit it, Ronaldo would probably have something to help us." Garnet answered the boys question, turning off the beach and up the grassy hill that lead to the lighthouse overlooking both the ocean and the entirety of Beach City. They came to the only door of the lighthouse, a single sign hanging on the door.

 _All ye who enter may never escape!_

The poor grammar annoyed Pearl, was his what humans now though of their history? Even though Ronaldo didn't own the lighthouse, as long as his belongings were out of the way of the control room, the fishery just let him set up in there. Better there than in some hazardous wear house.

Raising her arm and knocking three times, Garnet stepped back from the door as to not get hit when it opened. The sound of someone thumping around, crashing and moving objects rang through the building, then neared the door. Ronaldo opened the door, panting and hanging his head down with one hand on the door frame and the other supporting his upped half by resting on his knee.

"The walkways clear... Everything's moved... No safety concerns here..." He said between breaths, panting as he's obviously done some moving and running. "It's just us." Garnet informed him, nearly smiling at the hilarious display. Ronaldo looked up, face turning bright red and realizing he'd made a bad impression.

"Um- I mean- Welcome to the lighthouse of mystery! Where many come in; but significantly less come out!" He stretched out his words, waving his arms around in what almost looked like a mysterious manner, earning not the scared gasps he anticipated, but rather a groan of annoyance from the shorter girl. "Step this way!" He lead the gems into the lighthouse, adding ghostly vocal effects.

"So, what brings you to my, uh... Secret lair!" Rolando sat down beside a small pile covered in a white sheet, motioning for the others to do the same. The four sat in a circle around the white sheet in complete silence, when Garnet spoke. "We need something to-" She was cut off by Ronaldo pulling the sheet off the pile in front of them, revealing various bottles and cans, candles, salt, all sitting on top of an Ouija board.

"How did you-" Amethyst started, but was interrupted by Ronaldo. "I can sense it's presence!" He exclaimed, taking the bottles off the board and handing one to each of the 3 gems. Next, he opened the bag of salt, getting up and pouring a circle around the group. "Ronaldo that's not nessecary." Garnet said, putting her bottle down in front of her. Ronaldo finished pouring his salt circle and sat back down. "Ah, but it is! This spirit could be dangerous!"

Garnet glared. "It's just Pearl."

Throwing his arms in the air, Ronaldo glared back. "How do you know?" He slowly brought his arms down, placing 2 fingers of each hand on the Ouija board, gesturing for the rest of the gems to follow suit. Sitting in the salt circle with 16 fingers on the board, Ronaldo spoke. "Spirit! Show us a sign of your presence!" Then, to both everyone's expectations and surprise, the Ouija board shifted, the small triangle piece in the centre slowly moving to a letter.

H

Steven gasped, hairs standing up on the back of his neck as a cold, almost wet feeling pressed against his face, moving a stray piece of hair behind his ear. Yup. It's the same Pearl that always yelled at him to comb his hair. The young boy was honestly quite scared even though he knew that it was just Pearl. But, he was still talking to a ghost. And not just any ghost, but the ghost that made him toast and cereal that morning, and also did his laundry and mopped the floors. He wondered, just in his head, if Pearls ghost could still dust the China cupboard. His train of thought was interrupted when the board moved again.

I

"Hi." Garnet read out loud. The glass piece moved again, switching more easily to different letters.

I

A

M

D

E

A

D

"I am dead." Garnet read once again, looking up to face the rest of the group. Amethyst used her elbow to scratch her nose exhaling almost sarcstically. "We know that, tell us something useful!"

T

H

E

T

O

A

S

T

E

R

W

A

S

I

N

V

E

N

T

E

D

I

N

1

8

9

3

"The toaster was invented in 1893." Garnet read aloud, holding back from smiling at Pearls sarcasm in such a serious time. Amethyst pursed her lips, getting sassed by a ghost. "That is useful information." Steven added, also trying to contain a smile.

"I swear every living creature on this Earth is against me." Amethyst groaned, when the triangle piece moved again.

A

N

D

D

E

A

D

O

N

E

S


	14. The Ghost Chapter 4

_Still in the lighthouse..._

"Tell us where your body is."

It wasn't certain who spoke the question. Could've been Garnet. Could've been Ronaldo. Could've even never have been said, but just a figment of everyone's imaginations. Just a rustle of the wind, a scratch on the floor, all timed to sound like those words. But, those words were spoken and those words needed to be answered.

The air fell still, thick and dreary like. The quiet engulfed the group, not a noise to be heard for ages but the pounding heartbeats of the gems and humans sitting inside that circle of salt. Though none would like to admit it, they were scared. Not of a single thing, nor a chain of things, but scared of the circumstances that weren't even imaginable in a nightmare. The circumstances of a dead friend, and communicating with said dead friend with an Ouija board inside a partially abandoned lighthouse with a cardboard cutout of Tim Curry as _Dr Frank n Furter_ sitting, _staring_ in the corner.

Like nails running down a chalkboard, the triangular glass piece moved, scratching across the board in an angry; hasty attempt to express emotions through the equivalent of a text message.

T

H

E

J

U

Five letters came through, before the glass piece stopped moving, appearing to be flicked over off the board before the air in Garnets lap chilled, shivers racing up the tall gems spine. A heavy, cold weight pressed down onto her lap and against her chest, sending butterflies to her stomach that a ghost was sitting on her lap, seeking comfort from someone who was nearly frozen from fear.

"Please, finish your sentence." Garnet coaxed, scooting closer to the board in a successful attempt to urge Pearl to spell the red of the phrase. As if Pearl had reached a foot out to move the counter, it slid back onto the board, stopping between the letters N and M, then scooting a centimetre to the left to clearly spell the letter N.

K

Y

A

R

D

"The junkyard..." Amethyst breathed, brows knit in confusion before rising in both fear, concern and realization. She looked to Garnet, who had a look of denial on her face, just trying to comprehend the terms of Pearls death. "You were killed by the gem monster..." Steven breathed, breathing ragged and short, as he struggled to fight back every emotion boiling up inside of himself. He turned to Garnet, whose whole body had faintly began to glow; flickering on and off as if she'd come undone any second now.

Garnet pulled her fingers off the board, nearly sending Pearl flying to the other side of the lighthouse. "This is all my fault..." She nearly shouted, hands moved to the sides of her head. She took off her glasses, wiping her eyes of the tears that had began to form in her centre eye. "I shouldn't have let you go alone..." She whispered, hands falling to her sides, dropping the glasses to the floor. She stared straight ahead, where she could see Pearl more clearly than she ever had living. "I'm sorry..."


	15. Back Home

**One shot. I got a good idea for a scene, but didn't feel like I had the time or effort to write a whole fic, so here's the shittiest thing I've ever made since Away from Everything.**

* * *

"Speak. Make it quick, I have more pressing matters at hand."

Steven looked up, hands bound behind his back and kneeling on the cold stone floor, Amethyst on his left and Garnet on his right, both in the same situation. Garnet glared upwards, her shades having been removed, revealling eyes filled with both betrayal, sadness and anger.

"No." She said simply and sternly, maintaining eye contact with the looming figure perched upon her throne above them. Steven looked to Garnet, whose eyes had moved to meet another pair of once familiar eyes. But those eyes weren't the same shade of baby blue as they'd been when they'd been captured.

Yellow Diamond sighed, running a hand down the backs of the 2 Pearls perched in her lap, both had hands folded in their laps and were melting into the Diamonds touch. "Why? You will either be shattered, or may meet the fate of your companion and get repurposed. One or the other."

Amethyst scowled, pulled on the rope binding her wrists together. "I don't know what you did to her, but I'm not letting you lay a finger on me." She shouted, earning a shove from one of the quartz guards. Yellow Diamond scoffed, stroking the backs of the Pearls again. "I didn't do anything. She decided to come on her own."

Steven knit his brows in disbelief, refusing to accept that Pearl willingly gave up; willingly handed herself over to the Diamonds and disclosing important information to her regarding their location and weaknesses. "Pearl," he started, inching forward as much as he could before a guard stopped him, now close enough to reach a foot out and touch Yellow Diamonds shoe. "This isn't like you. You..." He trailed off, trying to search his former caretakers eyes for any sign of her old self.

"You were the face of the rebellion." Garnet finished for him rather quietly, sitting up a little taller. "Yeah!" Steven yelled, looking towards Garnet and smiling. "We need you."

"You're pretty important." Amethyst added with a grin. Pearls dainty little expression dropped, eyes meeting Stevens and no longer falling into her new owners touch.

"Close your eyes." Yellow Diamond instructed Pearl, who did as she was told with little hesitation, newfound ownership taking control once again. Yellow Diamonds eyes met Stevens, the hopefulness of the little boys eyes contrasting with the hate in her own. She held one hand just below where Pearl was sitting, using the other to gently push her off of her sitting spot on her thigh and onto her hand.

"Now Pearl, repeat after me." Yellow Diamond ordered, hand outstretched to reach the gems with Pearl sitting on the tips of her fingers. Pearl sat up straight, eyes locked on Stevens glare.

"I live on Homeworld now." Yellow Diamond spoke, grinning down at the Crystal Gems, eyes telling that she had a plan.

"I live on Homeworld now." Pearl repeated without hesitation. Stevens heart dropped. Even if those words meant nothing to Pearl, just hearing her say them without batting an eye was heartbreaking.

"I am just a Pearl." Obviously having fun torturing the Crystal Gems, Yellow Diamond thought of a better phrase to make Pearl repeat; one that would truly make the rebels shatter.

Pearl moved her glance to Amethyst, whom swore she saw something flicked on, then off in her eyes. "I am just a Pearl." The repetition somehow still hurt, though it wasn't Pearls real words, it still stung hearing her say something that she fought against for thousands of years.

Yellow Diamond smiled, the 3 rebels expressions priceless. She pursed her lips in thought, then stroked a finger down the spine of the Pearl still sitting in her lap. She looked down to the Crystal Gems, and spoke the words for Pearl to repeat.

"I am not a Crystal Gem."

Pearls blue eyes met Garnets this time, flickering on and off as she fought to decide who to side with this time; her friends or Homeworld. Pearl stalled, staring into Garnets multicoloured eyes as the fusion subtly shook her head, trying to coax her out of whatever spell that Homeworld put on her.

Taking in a deep breath, she looked toward the ceiling, then back at Garnet. Pearl spoke, slowly pronouncing every syllable in every word, carefully stringing them out.

"I am not a Crystal Gem."


End file.
